Chapter Text
Something went wrong. So, very very wrong. The scientists had told the reborn CEO that this was a terrible idea. But, Jack had fully ignored them with a wicked smile on his face.
“Imagine the possibilities! I can exterminate those bandits singlehandedly!” He had called out in manic happiness.
Rhys, the fearsome CEO’s PA, had remained utterly silent. He knew so very well what this would mean. Whatever creature Jack wanted to become… They were used in horror stories. This was a story the cybernetic man wanted to close the book on.
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Rhys stared through the bulletproof window, right into the enclosure where, what was left of, the CEO resided. ‘What was left of’ actually wasn’t the right phrase. Everything the man was, was still there. He just had some… additions. And they weren’t the fun kind like: Oh, look I have an extra fist, and arm to punch you with! Oh no. The PA wished it was.
Instead, he watched Jack rip the carcass of a dead skag right out, chewing on the bones to soothe his teeth, which had become sharpened; fanglike. A long tail swished around him, sleek, and spotted in fur, and every time it touched his side, the man would snap at it, all the while growling like a feral beast.
With sharp nails, he enjoyed peeling the skin off the skag, and he seemed to be genuinely debating on whether to eat it, or not. He decided not to; it looked gross. He tossed it over his shoulder, and stared at the organs. The man narrowed his eyes, and moved away from the corpse, all the while grinding his teeth on a piece of bone.
There wasn’t much going through Jack’s head at the moment. It was basically; Hungry. Teeth itch. What is that swishing thing? In that consequent order.
He side eyed the new appendage that flicked on the floor without his control. His brain hadn’t yet made the connection that it was an actual part of him. The man snarled when it moved closer, a low clicking sounded in the back of his throat.
Which startled him.
Rhys watched the mighty CEO flail in place, drop the bone, and grab his tail. He groaned, and pressed his head into the glass. He should’ve said something, should’ve warned him, but noooo. Rhys had to be a goody-two-shoes, and stay silent.
The scientist that stood next to him was scribbling something down on a piece of paper, probably proud of being vintage.
“For, uh…” The PA sighed. “How long is this going to continue?”
“I estimate his brain will adjust within the next few hours. He’s still hazy from the whole passing out thing, and the brain needs to change to be able to control his tail, ears, and the rest.”
“…The rest?”
“They glow, don’t they?”
The lanky man arched his brows, pushing himself away from the glass. “I don’t know. Haven’t read much about them. Just horror stories, but those aren’t really that trustworthy, are they?”
“No, they’re not.” The woman smiled. She was quite a nice person, not sucking up to anyone, nor demeaning to others. Rhys forgot her name, though. Apparently, that wasn’t just a Jack thing.
“Can I go in without being brutally slaughtered for my bones?”
“…I don’t think that’s a good idea, sir. For now, we’ll just have to continue monitoring him.”
The PA simply nodded, folding his arms.
Jack had always been fascinated by creatures, and monsters, and well… basically anything that could be used a weapon of mass destruction. When the opportunity arose to become one of the strongest weapons ever created, he jumped right on it.
Maybe it just wasn’t the greatest idea to inject himself with an unknown person’s DNA, even if it contained ‘the gene’, or as some people called it: ‘the virus’.
The CEO had coincidentally found the DNA while on an expedition to the old space stations floating around Earth. It was just innocently laying there on a desk, glowing a faint blue. He had almost passed up on it, but it was glowing, and that bode well for money. He forced R&D to research the possible dangerous substance, and they came to the conclusion that it was DNA, containing the virus used on countless humans to turn them into war machines.
Jack had said: ‘Fuck it.’, and promptly stabbed himself in the neck with the needle after a bit too little research.
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It was 3am when Jack started to come back to his senses. He groaned, loud and dramatic, as he rolled onto his stomach to push himself up. Even in the dim light of the ‘enclosure’ the scientists had secluded him in, he could see the markings that curled down his arms, but halted before touching his fingers.
The man sat back on the ground, or well. He tried. The second his ass touched the tail that calmly rested in the sand, he shot back up.
“You gotta be kidding me.” He muttered, staring at the appendage. There was a mix of fascination, and horror in his voice, not quite sure what to feel. Then he seemed to realise: ‘If I have a tail…’. Slowly, he brought his hands up to the top of his head. Nothing. With narrowed eyes, he lowered them to where his ears should be. Fur. “Oh shit.”
This was not the plan. This was not the plan. Shit.
“RHYS!” When in doubt; call your PA.
There was no response. The lights remained off, and his vision thus remained peculiar. The CEO stumbled around the area, eventually finding the glass window that separated him from his own goddamn space station. He punched it.
The man howled in pain, quickly pulling his arm back, and cradling his hand. “Fffffffu…dge…” He took a few deep breaths, and slumped against the wall.
Jack didn’t know how long it took for a door to open, and for the pain in his hand to numb, but when it did happen he found himself almost blinded by the sliver of light that entered his surroundings.
“Sir?” It was a woman’s voice.
“Fucking finally.” The CEO quickly walked to the door opening.
The young lady that stood there had blonde hair, which was messily tied into a bun. She had a scar on her leg, which was only visible when her long doctor’s coat moved. She scoffed when the man pushed passed her small frame.
“Right. Glad to see you’re doing well.” She stared at him with a pair of tired blue eyes. She glanced inside the enclosure, scrunching her nose at the scratch marks on the wall. “You should file your nails, though.”
“Uh, what was that, pumpkin?”
“Nothing.” The little lady feigned innocence. “We need to check your vitals before you leave.”
“I’m fine.”
The doctor looked unimpressed, and turned her body to eye his lower back. “Mhm.”
“The hell you ‘Mhm’ing for?”
“Just wondering if you noticed the… blood thing you’ve got going on.”
“It’s dried. No biggie.”
“If you say so.”
“I do!” With that, Jack left the R&D department.
The halls of Helios were boringly empty at 4am, who would’ve guessed? The problem was that Jack really wasn’t tired at all. He craned his head to watch his tail flick around as he walked. Of all things, he became a cat. All he knew at this very moment, was that he had markings on his arms, and legs, and that he had a tail, and furred ears. His tail was spotted, so that was neat. He should probably start his mission on finding a damn mirror.
The men’s bathroom was closed, and at 4am the CEO was not above entering it. No one would see him anyway.
His mask covered any markings that crawled up to his face from his neck, but he was not going to take the damned thing off. The sharp-edged shapes were a deep blue in colour, seeming to match the aged vault symbol on his face. The man ran his fingers on the marks on his arm, and shivered at the peculiar texture. It was like oil on his skin, but it wouldn’t rub off no matter what.
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His breathing was starting become laboured, and it felt as if something heavy was trying to slowly crush his chest. Rhys cracked an eye open, and tried slapping whatever it was off his chest. His flesh hand hit a solid form, and even his sleep-induced mind knew who it was. “…Jack?”
“Get up.” His boss said, a low clicking matching his words.
The PA looked to the side, eyeing his alarm clock. “It’s 5am.” A yawn slipped past his lips as he tried to sit up.
“I’m hungry.” Jack stared at him, eyes narrowing when a light was turned on.
The cybernetic man stared at the clearly oversized cat, and then eyed the tail. “Jack… does this mean that you’re a Jackguar now?” His voice was still groggy and heavy with sleep.
“Shut up, Rhys.”